POR 15, need advice on using it

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
Well, as many of you know, many Winnes and Itasca's have rust in lots of places. Some are worse and some are not so bad. I've done lots of painting in my time which, includes cars, jeeps, motorcycles and much more but, I've never really dealt with RUST and, and conversion there of or, painting over it etc.

Well, the frame, sub frame and multiple pieces and parts in and around the undercarriage have some pretty good rust on them. Nothing that I would label as "structural". It's more what I'd call "topical". The fuel tank is probably the worst of it all. Now, quite a while back, when we first picked up this rig, and I got on to this forum, it was noted that the oil pans of many of the CAT engines had to varying degrees, lots of rust. Well, mine was in the "heavy" description.

All I did was chip, scrape, sand, more sanding, more sanding, wipe down with Lacquer thinner and shoot it with a rattle can of yellow, no not CAT yellow, just yellow. That was about a year ago and, it's still hanging in there and not pealing off.

OK, now to the present. As many of you have, we have the infamous compartment door frame rust. Most of which is at or near the bottom edges but, some migrates up the sides too. Almost none at or near the top of any of the compartments. So, here's the deal. I could have just sanded and prepped for rattle can semi-flat black and it most likely will work but, we happened to be in a paint and body shop supplies store (what a candy store for us DYI types for paint and more), and saw this:
POR 15.

I'd heard of it being used on or for rust, in this and other forums. It's supposed to be the cats meow for rust. I've got no experience with it what so ever. I asked the salesman if I needed anything else with it. He said if you're going to spray it, you'll need this special solvent and handed a quart. Well, between the POR 15, (a pint of it) and a quart of the "special solvent" and, a quart of "Flash" which is a very, very nice liquid wax for detailers use and show cars, I walked out the door with $60.00 bill,

So, now, finally, the question. Based on the fact that from what I've read so far, it's primary use is for rusted, non coated metal. And, the prep for it, which the salesman said nothing about, is a two step system which, I did not purchase. I don't plan on taking all the compartment frames all the way down to raw metal, ain't happening. So, I was going to sand to the point of needed prep for acceptance of new paint and shoot this POR 15 right on the old stuff. But, this may be overkill in price for doing such a task.

Anyway, what's any of your experience(s) with this product? What exact steps did you take in prep? Did you just brush/spray it right over existing rust without sanding, wire brushing or ?? Did any of you put it over other paint and if so, did it or, is it, last(ing)? Or, did if flake off due to the fact that it was put over other paint?

I don't mind paying for good products for repair of my equipment. You get what you pay for. But, again, this attack at rust is new to me. I've sand blasted items and primer-ed and sprayed but, that's not happening here.
Scott

[daveshan]

I've used it extensively, it's insanely good stuff.

If the metal is rusted beyond a light surface coat get the "Metal Ready" or some other metal restorer, it will convert the rust back to something resembling metal. I think the other prep component is "pristine clean" or something like that, never used it.

It WILL NOT come off of your hands, wear gloves. Lacquer thinner will remove it if you get it before it sets. Otherwise you will wear it 'till your skin flakes off naturally.

I've always just painted it on, it's self leveling and not too hard to get a nice finish. It is not UV resistant, it fades but is not impacted strength or protection wise. I would not use it anywhere it's obvious. next spring my propane tank is getting treated. It's got lots of rock chips that have started to rust.

The process I use is. 1. Brush/scrape/sand to get all loose rust off. 2. Hit with Metal Ready. 3. Brush on Por-15.

It sticks way better than any other paint I've ever used, I would get all paint off if possible. If it sticks to paint then the paint flakes off the Por-15 obviously will come off with it, it protects best on bare metal.

First use was rebuilding a floor pan in an '85 Volvo 245 Ti using the Trunk Restoration Kit, by the time I was done the rusted out area was stronger than the solid metal part. That stuff is just flat tough.

[FIRE UP]

daveshan,
Thanks for getting back to me on this. You say it works best on bare metal? What I'm wondering is, if I purchase the two step system for prep for this POR 15, how will it do being applied onto older but, prepped/sanded paint? I wish the salesman would have instructed me on what else was needed for this system to work correctly. Thanks again.
Scott

[rehtaf]

POR 15 is great,have used it on car restores and other rusted panels,wire brush ,blow off and paint on ,brushing is best I am going to use it in the spring on my lower storage comp frames. Just to let you know you can't paint over it ,won't hold

[daveshan]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

daveshan,
Thanks for getting back to me on this. You say it works best on bare metal? What I'm wondering is, if I purchase the two step system for prep for this POR 15, how will it do being applied onto older but, prepped/sanded paint? I wish the salesman would have instructed me on what else was needed for this system to work correctly. Thanks again.
Scott

I would try to get to bare metal wherever possible. Por-15 forms a bond with bare metal that is far superior to any paint. The Metal Ready will do no good at all on paint, the Pristine Clean will clean the paint but I'd still rough it up with sandpaper if you can't get the paint off.

When I do the propane tank next year I won't be able to get all the powder coat/paint off but if it ain't come off in 14 years I figure it's good.

If I remember right Por-15's website has a pretty comprehensive set of descriptions and instructions.

[Mekanic]

I have used both the POR 15 and what Yearwood calls thier version of por15.
The real stuff is better. it stands for Paint Over Rust. The way I used was brushed it on after only light wires brushing and scraping of loose rust and paint.
Read the insructions. do not shake the can. When laid on good and thick this stuff is quite tough. almost as good as powder coat.

[Bruce C]

I used it on my superduty oil pan prior to the install. Tried to sand it for a second coat, forget it, it was like ceramic. I think you'll find it says not for use in exposed sunlight. It needs to be top coated to protect from the UV rays.

[Hikerdogs]

I used it last year to repaint the propane tank. I didn't remove all the paint, just cleaned and sanded everything the best I could. Before painting I sprayed on the metal prep and followed the directions to a T.

I couldn't believe the quality of the job it did. The coating was as strong as iron and almost impossible to sand for a second coat. Be sure to use a top coat for anything exposed to the sun. As mentioned earlier it will fade.

A couple other precautions, don't use it on high humidity days, and be sure if it's hot outside you don't get a drop of sweat in the can. It's very moisture sensitive and will be destroyed if any moisture gets in the can. Also if you don't use it all put a piece of saran wrap over the top of the can before replacing the lid. If you allow paint on the lid to touch any paint spilled in the sealing lip of the can you'll never get the top off again.

The only downside I've seen so far is the shelf life of unused paint is only about 6 months once the can has been opened.

[emiddleb]

Treated my passenger side last year with the POR15 system, will do the driver's side this Spring. Seems to be solid though only 8 months so far.

Others have given good advice. My only regret is that I probably should have sanded the edges between rust and paint a bit more to give a smoother finish. The photos make it look worse than it is though, because of the flash angle on the camera.

Highly recommended. All the work is in the prep, and the more time you spend the better the results. Did the complete system... scraping/sanding, chemicals, POR15, and ChassisCoat topping.

Photos attached for one section... after scraping, after chemical treatment, and final result.

[FIRE UP]

Wow,
You guys are great! I surely appreciate your insight to this product. As stated, it's new to me so, EXPERIENCE is always the best teacher, I think I read that some place. As previously stated, I surely don't mind work and, if that means, removing the seals around each individual compartment, the bottom-1/2 round moulding too, even the attached side of the gas struts so I can do a bang-up job on prep and paint, well, that's what's got to be done.

I guess I'll have to go purchase the prep part of the system and, whatever top coat is required. Most of you, and I read in the instructions, say that a certain top is should be used. I'll check into that. While these compartment doors are not open "in the sun" for any length of time, it is stated that it the POR 15 WILL fade if it sees the sun.

So, again, thank all of you for your time, experience and help here. Very, very much appreciated. I'll get pic of the before, during and after.
Scott